Spurred by the warming weather, the Track and Field team has emerged from its indoor season faster than ever before. With less than a month left, the team has been hard at work to excel in their last few meets.
“This season, since indoor, is the best track and field program we’ve ever had,” Sixth Former Ahijah Goins said.
The team recently competed at the renowned 2026 Penn Relay Carnival, where they faced off against the fastest teams in the Inter-Ac and across the state in the 4×100 and 4×400. In the days leading up to their race, weather conditions were looking favorable. However, when it came time to compete, conditions worsened.
“ The two days of Penn Relays before [we raced], it was 70 degrees, and then when it got to our day, it was like forty degrees,” Goins said. “So our expectations…changed because we knew we’d probably run slower just because of the elements.
Nevertheless, the boys went in with resolve.
“ We went into it trying to win the Inter-Ac Division and then make it to the Championship of America,” Goins said.
Although they missed out on placing first in the Inter-Ac league and qualifying for the Championship of America by less than a second, the 4×400 team consisting of Goins, Fifth Formers Haven Hoilett and Isaiah Bland, and Fourth Former James Hawkins broke the school record with a time of 3:16.06, advancing to the Philadelphia Area finals.
While others in their situation may have been discouraged about missing a major opportunity by such a narrow margin, the boys were not. In the Philadelphia Area finals, the team had another superlative run, clocking in at 3:16 again and winning first out of the twelve fastest teams in the area.
“ We did want to make it to the Championship of America, but making it to the championship of Philadelphia and winning it all is [also] really good,” Hoilett said.
Although the season is nearing its end and the team will lose veteran runners, the team has confidence in continued improvement.
“ My first year running high school [in Form II] was Coach Hawk’s first year coaching,” Goins said. “ We came a long way since then, all the way from coming last or second to last at Inter-Acs to being PTFCA state champions.”
The team and its younger runners’ strength over the years is a byproduct of pure dedication.
Such confidence is backed by the prevalence of strong young runners.
“I’m one of the only seniors that’s leaving from a running standpoint,” Goins said. “ I’m proud of the team. I think they’ll have an even better year than we had last year and this year.”
The team and its younger runners’ strength over the years is a byproduct of pure dedication.
“Track isn’t just one of those piggyback sports,” Bland said. “It’s a real sport that people try and work very hard for, and it’s one of the best sports here at the school.”
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